Saturday, July 5, 2014

A Dion DiMucci Moment

 

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Trivia Bits 05 July

 

Lupton City in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was created in the 1920s as a planned community for a thread mill and its workers.

The Patagonian Desert is the largest desert in the South American country of Argentina occupying 673,000 square kilometres (260,000 mi²).

The 1920 poem Fire and Ice was written by American poet Robert Frost who was honoured frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.

A female fox is known as a vixen.

Holidays celebrated in Greece include Το Όχι, literally day of the "no", which honours Greece's 1940 refusal to surrender to the Axis Powers which were the nations that fought in the Second World War against the Allied forces.

The India-sponsored Pan-African e-Network project aims to link all member states of the African Union with each other and India through a satellite and submarine cable network.

Phil Collins, English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor and writer. released his debut solo album Face Value in 1981.

Brecknockshire is one of the historic counties of Wales, a constituent country of the United Kingdom.

According to Greek mythology, Icarus flew so high that the sun melted his wings.

The Streisand effect is the phenomenon whereby an attempt to hide, remove, or censor a piece of information has the unintended consequence of publicizing the information more widely. It is named after American entertainer Barbra Streisand’s 2003 attempt to suppress photographs of her residence in Malibu, California, inadvertently generated further publicity.

Quotables 05 July

 

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Friday, July 4, 2014

A Dinah Washington Moment

 

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Trivia Bits 04 July

 

In 1878, François Roudaire proposed flooding the Sahara by a channel cut from the Mediterranean to the Chott el Fejej, an event which was portrayed in Jules Verne's last novel.

Ella Havelka became the first indigenous dancer to join the Australian Ballet in 2012.

The Sun Sessions album included all of the Elvis Presley tracks recorded in Sun Studios in 1954 and 1955 by producer Sam Phillips, the head of Sun Studios.

The traditional London taxi is coloured black.

Jason Bateman’s character in the 2003 American television sitcom Arrested Development is Michael Blutch.

There are32 bones in the human arm which is the upper limb of the body, comprising regions between the shoulder and the elbow joints, and out to the fingers.

The Beaumont Children, Jane (aged 9), Arnna (aged 7), and Grant (aged 4) disappeared without a trace from Glenelg a beach near Adelaide, South Australia in 1966 and to date the disappearance has never been solved.

Lord Mountbatten of the British Royal Navy invented Mountbatten pink, a naval camouflage colour resembling grayish mauve paint used during World War II designed to render ships difficult to see during dawn and dusk.

The Tokyo Monorail, which travels at speeds of up to 80 kph, was constructed to coincide with the 1964 Summer Olympics and connects Haneda Airport in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, to Hamamatsuchō Station in Minato, Tokyo.

American illustrator and writer of children's books, Maurice Sendak is best known for his 1963 children’s book Where the Wild Things Are.

Quotables 04 July

 

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Thursday, July 3, 2014

A Dinah Shore Moment

 

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Trivia Bits 03 July

 

The Bay Lights art installation uses 25,000 white LED lights, programmed to create a series of abstract patterns that ascend and descend the cables on the San Francisco Bay Bridge.

Monrovia is the capital of the West African country of Liberia.

American epic space opera film The Return of the Jedi was directed by Richard Marquand and starred Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher being released in cinemas on May 25, 1983.

Moorish Gibraltar was known as the City of Victory and lasted for over 725 years from 711 AD to 1462 AD, far longer than Spanish or British Gibraltar.

Duracell is a portmanteau for Durable Cell and is an American brand product line of batteries and smart power systems manufactured by Procter & Gamble.

When Finnish athlete Lauri Lehtinen narrowly won his gold medal in a controversial 5000 metre race at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, he was booed due to a tactical zig-zagging form one lane to another to block any competitors.

The village name Ynysybwl, in South Wales, UK, is pronounced "Un-is-u-bull".

Francois Mitterrand served as the French President from 1981 until 1995 and is the longest-serving President of France.

Long Ashton Research Station in the village of Long Ashton near Bristol, UK closed in 2003 having served agriculture and horticulture for exactly 100 years having opened in 1903.

Chinese chess prodigy, Hou Yifan born February 27, 1994, became the youngest female grandmaster in history in 2008.

The floral emblem of South Australian is the Sturt Pea.

Quotables 03 July

 

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Wednesday, July 2, 2014

A Dick Powell Moment

 

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Trivia Bits 02 July

 

The phantom island of Brazil, also known as Hy-Brasil, supposedly emerges from the mists only once every seven years lying in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland. Hy-Brasil was featured in the 1989 British comedy-fantasy film Erik the Viking starring Tim Robbins.

Noddy is a character created by English children's author Enid Blyton, originally published between 1949 and 1963.

The Australian $100 banknote was first issued in 1984 and was paper issue with a portrait of Antarctic explorer Douglas Mawson, with a background of a mountain range with a geological strata format. Astronomer John Tebbutt is on the reverse, with a background of the observatory he built and a local church

The Mona Lisa, a half-length portrait of a woman by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, has been permanently on display at the The Louvre since 1797.

Kerry Anne Wells was the first Australian to be crowned Miss Universe in 1972 at the pageant held in San Juan, Puerto Rico the first pageant to take place outside the continental United States.

Job’s tears is a tall grain-bearing tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family) native to Southeast Asia.

The Yazidis, an ancient religion that linked to Zoroastrianism and Sufism, think of their god, Melek Taus, as a golden peacock, although some Christians and Muslims think of him as Lucifer.

John Gatins, the Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of the 2012 movie Flight, got into scriptwriting when a fellow Vassar graduate offered him $1,000 to pen a screenplay.

Titan is the largest moon orbiting the planet Saturn.

Lion Beer was Asia's first brand of beer being first sold by Dyer Breweries at Kasauli in the Himalayan Mountains in the 1855. Lion was originally an IPA (India Pale Ale) but the beer style was changed in the 1960s to a lager.

Quotables 02 July

 

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Tuesday, July 1, 2014

A Dick Clark Moment

 

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Trivia Bits 01 July

 

Christopher Walken won an Oscar for the 1978 movie The Deer Hunter.

The Roman Harbaqa Dam in the Syrian Desert, dating back to the first or second century AD, was reused by the Umayyads in the eighth century to supply water to the nearby palace of Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi.

Red-bellied black, common copperhead and yellow-faced whip are breeds of snake.

Based on a folk tale, the Croatian comic opera in three acts by Jakov Gotovac, Ero the Joker, was first performed on November 2, 1935.at the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb.

Rock melon is often referred to as a Cantaloupe with its first known usage in English dates from 1739 in The Gardeners Dictionary Vol. II by Scottish botanist Philip Miller (1691–1771).

A Kensington Pride is a named commercial mango cultivar that originated in Australia in the 1960’s.

American singer-songwriter, author, actress, writer, film producer, and director Barbra Streisand’s second husband is American actor, producer and director James Brolin whom she married on July 1, 1998.

Above the north doorway of St Laurence's Church, Church Stretton in Shropshire, England, is a sheila-na-gig - figurative carvings of naked women displaying an exaggerated vulva.

Hurricane Debbie in September 1961 produced record-breaking winds across parts of Ireland, gusting up to 114 mph (183 km/h) off the coast of Arranmore.

Rhinoplasty is a surgical procedure for correcting and reconstructing the form, restoring the functions, and aesthetically enhancing the nose.

Quotables 01 July

 

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Monday, June 30, 2014

Movie Review ... Transformers: Age Of Extinction

 

transformers_age_of_extinctionProof you can’t keep a good mechanoid down is seen in ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’.  The fourth in the mega-successful movie franchise, the series making a fortune for its producers.  Given it advertises a toy-line while telling its’ highly stylised comic-strip tale, it’s doubly rewarding for all involved.  Never pretending to be high art, it’s a nonsensical parlour ride for those firmly leaving their brains at the door. 

Cade (Mark Wahlberg) is a mechanic eking out a living.  Raising his teenage daughter Tessa (Nicola Peltz), he is intrigued when he discovers an abandoned truck. Little does he know it contains Optimus Prime – leader of the heroic Autobots.  When powerful politicians led by Harold Attinger (Kelsey Grammer) attempt to unlock their secrets, all hell breaks loose.  With earth once again under threat of a robotic apocalypse, it’s up to Optimus and his new human friends to save the day before times runs out.

It would be easy dismissing the latest Transformers as bubble-gum rubbish.  Way too long, riddled with plot holes and risible performances, similar films would be quickly sent to the scrap-heap.  It is trashy but you don’t see these films for an engaging story.  What this entry has is an abundance of dazzling action and an effort in creating something new.  Series’ Director Michael Bay knows the score by now as he handles the explosive spectacle with ease.  Managing to find the right mix of humour and tension, he ensures ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ remains entertaining.

Not much can be said about the acting although Wahlberg equips himself well. His virtuous hero versus Grammer’s oily villain provides some relief against the CGI excess surrounding them.  Thankfully the special effects don’t descend into a mess enabling the viewer to see the creativity in the action sequences.  Negating these gains is a near three hour run-time making viewing an endurance test.  Less is usually far more although Bay deserves credit for his uncompromising way in conjuring high-octane hokum.

‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ is generally entertaining silliness for mass consumption.  A form of cinematic fast-food delivering the expected product with gusto and should please those who like marvelling at robotic fisticuffs.

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Movie Review Rating out of 10:  6

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

Agree with Patrick's Movie Review? Then please use the comment box.

Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.

Official HomePage click HERE

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Movie Review ... 22 Jump Street

 

22_jump_street_posterAfter the success of its first outing, it was a given ’21 Jump Street’ would spawn a sequel.  That doesn’t mean it was any good – just that it made plenty of money to please film executives.  ’22 Jump Street’ follows the same action/comedy formula with tons of gun-play and puerile humour.  Fans of the TV show, upon which this series is based, may wonder why its concept was so radically altered.  Where Hollywood is concerned such things are trivial with this sequel proving raking in dollars is far more vital than conjuring quality.

Famed for their exploits in a previous mission, officers Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) are sent back to Jump Street.  Reporting to their boss Captain Dickson (Ice Cube), they are given their latest assignment.  Going undercover to bust a drug ring, they think it will be a breeze.  Their wayward ways become rudely shaken when they combat an army eager to protect their turf.

Whilst occasionally having some fun and showing genuine wit, ’22 Jump Street’ takes the easy way out.  Instead of providing character development and working hard at creating laughs, the producers opt for minimal characterisation and crudity.  Comedies used to be far more sophisticated with the potential to make this as timeless as many others lost.  Tatum and Hill display some good chemistry although their banter mirroring those from the ‘Lethal Weapon’ series becomes tiresome.

To their credit directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller put some edge to the material.  Their skewering of typical sequel conventions works and they handle the action sequences well.  It’s a shame the humour is mostly mis-handled with the original TV show’s ethos discarded for the sake of cheap gags.  ’22 Jump Street’ has few new elements to differentiate itself from its forebear.

Sequels should at least match or better the original outing.  ’22 Jump Street’ fails to do this.  Whilst its humour may have fans, it barely registers on the memory with its projected third offering something only its money-making producers would welcome.

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Movie Review Rating out of 10:  3

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

Agree with Patrick's Movie Review? Then please use the comment box.

Patrick Moore's Movie Review is an alternative look at movie releases in Australia.

Official HomePage click HERE

TRAILER

SOUNDTRACK

A Diana Rigg Moment

 

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Trivia Bits 30 June

 

Jamil Mihhu, contesting the Beirut II constituency in the 1968 election, was the first Kurd to run for office in Lebanon.

Annie Oakley was a famous American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter and was born Phoebe Ann Moses on August 13, 1860 in North Star, Ohio.

The grand opera Aida was written by Giuseppe Verdi and was first performed at the Khedivial Opera House in Cairo on 24 December 1871, conducted by Giovanni Bottesini.

A Baja Bug is a Volkswagen Beetle that has been modified to operate on sand dunes and originated in Southern California in the late 1960s as an inexpensive answer to the successful Volkswagen-based dune buggies of the mid-1960s, with the first Baja Bug generally credited to Gary Emory of Parts Obsolete, circa 1968.

If you were surfing at Roaring Beach, you would be in the Australian state of Tasmania.

In 1996, UK female pop group Spice Girls had a hit with Wannabe.

There are five living species of rhinoceros - the white rhinoceros, the black rhinoceros, the Indian rhinoceros, the Javan rhinoceros and the Sumatran rhinoceros.

Tala can mean either a Somoan monetary unit or a rhythmic pattern in Indian music.

The grizzly bear is native to North America and are normally solitary, active animals, but in coastal areas, grizzlies gather around streams, lakes, rivers, and ponds during the salmon spawn.

Muixeranga is a name given to ancient acrobatic street dances and human castles originating in the Valencian Community being still preserved in the town of Algemesí, 30 km (19 mi) southwest from Valencia, Spain.

Quotables 30 June

 

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Sunday, June 29, 2014

A Diane Cilento Moment

 

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Trivia Bits 29 June

 

The wide sash worn around a kimono is called an Obi.

Cornwall Terrace, constructed between 1821 and 1823, was one of the earliest buildings constructed in Regent's Park in London.

The equinox happens in two months of the year – around 20 March and 22 September with the oldest meaning is the day when daytime and night are of approximately equal duration.

Angie Harman and Sasha Alexander co-star in the TV series Rizzoli and Isles a one-hour drama based on the Rizzoli & Isles series of novels by Tess Gerritsen which premiered on July 12, 2010.

The Monastery of the Holy Trinity, Meteora in Greece was featured in the 1981 James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only.

The bulb of the Wavy-leafed Soap Plant, found in most of California, the Sierra Nevada and the deserts, and in southwestern Oregon, can be used to wash your hair, to stun fish, to cure rheumatism and to make brushes

Released in January 2013 How to be a Good Wife was a debut novel by British writer Emma Chapman.

The first game in the Catan game series is The Settlers of Catan and is a multiplayer board game designed by Klaus Teuber first published in 1995 in Germany.

Introduced in 1986, The Adelaide O-Bahn is a guided busway in South Australia that runs from Adelaide CBD to the Tea Tree Plaza shopping centre in Tea Tree Gully a distance of approximately 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) long.

Charles W. Adams, a Confederate colonel during the American Civil War, was a grandfather of author, political activist, disabilities advocate and lecturer Helen Keller who overcame blindness to achieve her many accomplishments.

The chemical element sodium has the symbol Na.

Gaulden Manor (also Gavelden or Gaveldene) dating back to the thirteenth century in the southeast of Tolland, Somerset, England. It is a double storied building with interior plasterwork with a chapel featuring a c.1640 ceiling featuring an angel with trumpet on Judgment Day.

The 1872 founded State Historical Museum in Moscow, Russia, wedged between Red Square and Manege Square, has 1.7 million coins in its collection.

A Sinologist studies China and Chinese topics and may also refer more strictly to the study of classical language and literature.

Podestà is the name given to certain high officials in many Italian cities beginning in the later Middle Ages mainly being the chief magistrate of a city state with first documented usage of podestà was in Bologna in 1151, when it was applied to Guido di Ranieri di Sasso of Canossa, brought in from Faenza to be rettore e podestà (Rector and Mayor).

Angkor Wat is a Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world.

The lowest point in Australia is Lake Eyre being 15 metres (49 ft) below sea level and on the rare occasions that it fills the largest lake in Australia and 18th largest in the world.

Amercian Gothic was painted by US artist Grant Wood in 1930.

Cockaigne or Cockayne is medieval figurative language denoting a mythical land of plenty, an imaginary place of extreme luxury and ease where physical comforts and pleasures are always immediately at hand and where the harshness of medieval peasant life does not exist.

Believe to be up to 120 km (75 mi) in diameter, The Woodleigh meteorite impact crater is in Western Australia centred on Woodleigh Station east of Shark Bay and was announced in the 15 April 2000 edition of Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Quotables 29 June

 

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